Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,848 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 6,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 215,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,598,000 after purchasing an additional 52,000 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 20,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 7,349 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

VZ stock opened at $39.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).